“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on unique challenges for our state and the entire nation, and my colleagues and I in the General Assembly are working on legislation in response to a variety of these issues,” said State Senator Stacey Donato.
The Senator said, “To improve visitation access for long-term care facilities, my colleagues and I voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 202, which would require nursing homes and other residential care facilities to allow their residents to participate in the Compassionate Care Program and Essential Caregiver Program.” These programs allow a designated person to be deemed an essential family caregiver, allowing the individual to safely visit their loved one and provide vital support and care, even when visitation is halted due to a public health emergency.
Religion plays an integral role in the daily lives of Hoosiers across the state, and even more so during times of crisis. To protect religious freedom during public emergencies the Senator said, “I voted in favor of Senate Bill 263, which recently passed the Senate with bipartisan support. SB 263 would ban state and local government from imposing restrictions on religious organizations and religious services that are more restrictive than those imposed on other businesses and organizations deemed “essential services” during a disaster.”
For more information on these and other bills moving through the General Assembly, click here.
